Evan Anthony Hyde, also known as Evan X Hyde, was born on April 30, 1947. He is a Belizean writer, journalist, media executive, and former politician. He works for Amandala, which is the largest newspaper in Belize. He also manages Amandala's companies, KREM Radio (started in 1989) and XTV (originally called KREM Television, started in 2004).

From 1969 to 1974, he led the United Black Association for Development (UBAD). This group asked for better living conditions for Black people in Belize and stressed the importance of working together. He earned a bachelor's degree in English from Dartmouth College.

Early life and education

Hyde was born in Belize City to a large family. His father, Charles B. Hyde, worked as a public servant. Hyde went to Holy Redeemer Boys' School before it joined with a girls' school of the same name. He then attended St John's College High School (SJC), an all-male school in Belize City. Hyde did very well in creative writing.

He was among the first students to attend the SJC Junior College in 1964 and 1965. In 1966, he received a scholarship from the U.S. Embassy to study at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He started classes in September 1966 and graduated in June 1968 as one of the top students in his class.

UBAD and entry into politics

In 1968, Hyde returned to Belize after leaving two years earlier. At that time, the country faced challenges because a recent plan to resolve the Guatemalan claim had been rejected. He began teaching at Belize Technical College and worked to connect with other young intellectuals to help shape Belize’s future. Hyde had learned about the early Black Power movement in the United States, including the ideas of Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X, who had recently been killed.

On January 1, 1969, Hyde joined a protest at a local cinema against the Vietnam War film The Green Berets, which starred John Wayne. The group he was part of, called the Ad Hoc Committee for the Truth About Vietnam, later became the United Black Association for Development (UBAD) and the People’s Action Committee, led by Assad Shoman and future Prime Minister Said Musa. Hyde helped start UBAD in February 1969 and became its president in March after the first leader, Lionel Clarke, was charged with misconduct.

Hyde left his teaching job to focus on the movement and also began a relationship with Audrey Scott, whom he later married. Together, they had four children: Tifara, Eva, Rachel, and Evan “Mose” Hyde, who later became a DJ and manager of Krem Television. They later separated, and Hyde had three more children with Claudette Coleman: Cordel, who is now a representative and Deputy Prime Minister, Vonetta, a lawyer in London, and Michael, a manager at Krem Radio. Hyde also had a daughter named Jacinta, who works as a business manager for Amandala, with another woman. Hyde and Audrey later reconciled, and they have several grandchildren.

In 1969, Hyde wrote Knocking Our Own Ting, a humorous look at the Battle of St. George’s Caye. He later published North Amerikkkan Blues in 1971, which described his time at Dartmouth, and The Crowd Called UBAD in 1972, a detailed history of the organization up to that point. He also briefly taught at Wesley College, a high school in Belize City.

Hyde was involved in politics. As a UBAD member, he ran as one of nine candidates in the 1971 Belize City Council elections, which were part of a coalition with the National Independence Party. The coalition did not win. In 1974, he ran for the Belize House as a UBAD candidate in the Collet constituency but finished third. His campaign was seen as influencing the election, which was decided by one vote. In 1977, he ran again for Belize City Council as a People’s United Party (PUP) candidate but lost.

In 1973, many members of UBAD voted to join the newly formed United Democratic Party. As party chair, Hyde disagreed with this decision, which led to UBAD’s end the following year.

Post-UBAD

After UBAD ended in February 1974, Hyde began working as a journalist. He also published two other works: Feelings in 1975, which included mostly fictional stories; and Poems of Passion, Patriotism and Protest, a poetry project he completed with Rowland Parks and Richard "Dickie" Bradley in 1981.

Over time, Hyde focused more on Amandala, first as its editor and later as its publisher. His "From the Publisher" columns discussed current events in Belize, as well as topics related to African and Mayan history. In 1989, Hyde helped create KREM Radio and hosted one of its first shows, the Kremandala Show, which aired on Monday nights (it now airs on Tuesdays) at 7:30 p.m.

Hyde’s first three books, along with some non-fiction writing and earlier editorials from Amandala up to 1991, were reprinted in X-Communication, published by Angelus Press in 1994. Some of Hyde’s fictional works were later included in editions of the Belizean Writers Series during the 1990s.

Today, Hyde serves as chair of the UBAD Educational Foundation, which replaced UBAD, and owns the Library of African and Indian Studies on Partridge Street.

Publishing history

• Feelings, 1975
• Poems of Passion, Patriotism and Protest (with Rowland Parks and Dickie Bradley), 1981
• Snapshots of Belize (story "A Conscience for Christmas"; Belizean Writers Series)
• Ping Wing Juk Me (play "Haad Time"; Belizean Writers Series)
• Of Poems (several poems; Belizean Writers Series)

• Knocking Our Own Ting (a funny look at history), 1969
• North Amerikkkan Blues (autobiography), 1971
• The Crowd Called UBAD: A Book About a Group of People Working Together for Change (history), 1972
• Sports, Sin and Subversion (sports, history), 2008